Matt Renwick
@readbyexample.bsky.social
Systems coach, author, and fan of the Oxford comma Writing at https://readbyexample.substack.com
What do all the "look-fors" I pay attention to in classrooms have in common? They capture the complexity of instruction vs. reducing teaching down to a behavior or a score. More: open.substack.com/pub/readbyex...
What I Look For When I Visit Classrooms
On Develop a Rich, Nuanced Understanding of Instruction
open.substack.com
Principals: Trying to visit classrooms, only to get pulled back to the office as soon as you leave? Join me for a free webinar on December 4, where I share the processes I used to be present with teachers and students. RSVP --> luma.com/m6om1q8n @middleweb.bsky.social @corwinpress.bsky.social
New: OBSERVING INSTRUCTION WITH A CURIOSITY MINDSET. The question isn't whether principals should observe classroom instruction, says coach Matt Renwick. "It's whether we can observe it with curiosity rather than judgment." #edusky @readbyexample.bsky.social www.middleweb.com/52832/observ...
Principals Observing Instruction with a Curiosity Mindset
The question isn't whether principals should observe classroom instruction, says Renwick. "It's whether we can observe it with curiosity rather than judgment."
middleweb.com
The phrase "design for the edges" is about creating more inclusive and welcoming spaces for all students. It asks that we think not about what the average person needs, but what people at the margins need. open.substack.com/pub/readbyex...
Design for the Edges
Strategies for Supporting Unique Readers and Writers
open.substack.com
When a school struggles, do staff blame poverty? Attendance? "Those kids"? The story a school tells about itself shapes everything—and leaders are the chief storytellers. How to change the narrative: open.substack.com/pub/readbyex...
Two things students want, need, and appreciate when at school: 1. Teachers/staff care about them. 2. Teachers/staff expect great things of them. #pbisforum
Reading screeners and diagnostics are lagging data. They are a product of a) how engaged students are as readers and b) how they see themselves as readers. Isolated skill-based interventions for students ignores the root cause of why they are not succeeding as readers.
One of the best ways to recommend a book is to be seen reading the book. Other readers want to know what has you so engaged. You are leveraging FOMO in a healthy way.
MW Substack 032: ALL KINDS OF LEADERSHIP Has keeping our schools on course ever been more challenging? We've gathered some of our most insightful and encouraging articles about school & teacher leadership. #edusky #edleadershipchat @readbyexample.bsky.social middleweb.substack.com/p/mw-substac...
MW Substack 032: All Kinds of Leadership
Has keeping our schools on course ever been more challenging? We've gathered some of our most insightful and encouraging articles about school and teacher leadership.
middleweb.substack.com
"Research indicates that kids who are exposed to more than two hours a day of recreational screen time have worse working memory, processing speed, attention levels, language skills and executive function than kids who are not." www.nytimes.com/2025/07/28/o...
Opinion | Thinking Is Becoming a Luxury Good
nytimes.com
Sketchnotes from Crucial Influence training this week. Excited to bring these ideas to regional schools!
The Leadership-Reading Brain open.substack.com/pub/readbyex... Is literacy a tool for empowerment or oppression in your school? #edusky #edchat #cpchat #educoach
The Leadership-Reading Brain
Is literacy a tool for empowerment or oppression in your school?
open.substack.com
Without Trust, Professional Learning is Just Compliance Theater open.substack.com/pub/readbyex...
Without Trust, Professional Learning is Just Compliance Theater
Including a simple staff activity that immediately builds trust
open.substack.com
The news cycle wants us anxious and reactive. An antidote: read. Just wrote about why books matter during challenging times. Reading is balm, habit, and resistance. When we say yes to books, we say no to urgency traps. open.substack.com/pub/readbyex... #edusky #elachat #cpchat #educoach
Why We Should Read During Challenging Times
A Case for Books as Balm, Healthy Habit, and Resistance
open.substack.com
"the pursuit of wisdom is impossible without engaging with (and challenging) uncomfortable ideas." www.nytimes.com/2025/04/19/o... via @nytimes.com
Opinion | The Naval Academy Canceled My Lecture on Wisdom
nytimes.com
"What I've learned is that it's easy to keep busy in just about any job. What's difficult is to discern what I should be focused on at the moment while ignoring everything else that I've committed to or been assigned." @middleweb.bsky.social #edusky
MiddleWeb@middleweb.bsky.social · last yr.3 Ways Ed Leaders Can Be More Present and Productive. Leader overwhelm? Matt Renwick copes using 'productive presence', "a system for organizing all my responsibilities so that I can focus on one thing at a time." #edusky #leadership @readbyexample.bsky.social www.middleweb.com/52368/rethin...
Are you not seeing the promised results from a recent literacy initiative? Try this journaling activity: Fill in the blank: “We can work smarter and not harder by _____________.” Keep writing with this line thinking until you arrive at a unique insight. Share it with a trusted colleague. #edusky
“You don't have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them.” ― Ray Bradbury
“If you don’t read fiction,” Verghese said, “my considered medical opinion is that a part of your brain responsible for active imagination atrophies.” news.harvard.edu/gazette/stor...
Verghese tells an American story at Commencement — Harvard Gazette
Physician, novelist underlines immigrants’ contributions to Harvard and the nation, urges grads to show courage in face of hardship.
news.harvard.edu
Reading is the main event in schools, often at the expense of writing. I think part of this comes from the perception that reading is easy to measure, at least from a phonics-first approach. Conversely, writing presents as more of a process and involves the inherent messiness of creativity.
Striking a Balance Between Reading and Writing
What I learned from a week of no reading
open.substack.com
There’s no science of reading without the art of teaching readers.
Feedback is most effective when it goes both ways. When everyone positions themselves first as a learner and are willing to regularly examine the beliefs they hold about literacy instruction, collective practice improves. open.substack.com/pub/readbyex... #edusky #edchat #cpchat #educoach
Bridging the Belief-Practice Divide in Literacy Instruction
Three steps to help teachers align their values with their instruction
open.substack.com
The #1 thing teachers want from leaders is to be recognized and affirmed for their work. They also want feedback on how to improve. But trust and relationships between the leader and the teacher must first be established. #edusky